The best modern crime TV shows from the 90s to now

If you're a modern crime fan, there is a huge amount of television shows on offer for you. Here are some of the best modern crime dramas from the late 90s onwards.

The Sopranos

Released in 1999, The Sopranos revolutionised television by making a mafia boss into a hero the viewer was rooting for. David Chase had the brilliant idea of pairing a mafia don's life of crime with their mid-life family pressures. Tony Soprano is seen committing murders one minute and then discussing his anxiety with a therapist the next. It also paved the way for long-form, hour-long television episodes and was highly influential on other television writers. A prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark, was released in 2021.

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad tells the story of Walter White, a mild-mannered Chemistry teacher who gradually over time becomes a ruthless drug kingpin. Like Tony Soprano, Walter White becomes a psychopathic anti-hero. And yet, the audience wants him to succeed as he navigates the world of selling meth. The writers also show the corruption of characters as they become deeper involved in crime.

Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul is set before Breaking Bad and tells the story of slippery lawyer Jimmy McGill who transforms into Saul Goodman. The show was co-written by the creator of Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan, and Peter Gould.

Similar to Breaking Bad's portrayal of Walter White, Better Call Saul shows how a person's character can shift over time and become corrupted in the face of financial struggles, family conflict and ambition.

True Detective

Nic Pizzolatto created a modern masterpiece with True Detective. The show looks beyond the procedures of criminal investigations and taps into questions around psychology, morality and existentialism. Unlike some other crime stories, characters are not presented as wholly good or bad.

Mindhunter

Based on an FBI instruction manual, Mindhunter was a TV series that featured FBI agents speaking to convicted murderers in order to learn why they had killed people. The show explores the emerging world of criminal profiling in the 1970s. Mindhunter stands out for its blending of real murder cases with character development and interpersonal conflict.

Ozark

Ozark is a tense, slow-burn modern crime TV show that focuses on Marty Byrde, a financial advisor who becomes embroiled in a money laundering scheme for a drug cartel. Inevitably, Marty gets out of his depth and is forced to relocate with his family to the Ozarks region of Missouri.

Over time Ozark shows how normal, law-abiding people can become compromised as they slip into pursuing a life of crime. The show has been critically acclaimed for its intricate plot, bleak tone and accurate portrayal of how some people can drift into criminality.

Narcos

Narcos follows the life of one of the world's most famous criminals, Pablo Escobar, a name known across the world. The show tracks Escobar's ascent as a drug lord in Colombia and his eventual downfall. Later series portray other successful drug empires. Narcos expertly blends archive footage with dramatized storytelling, presenting a finished story that is both modern but faithful to its source material. A meme was born when the lead actor Wagner Moura is seen looking bored sitting on a bench.

Broadchurch

Broadchurch is a British crime drama set in a fictional town in the south west of England. It stars David Tennant and Olivia Colman as detectives Alec Hardy and Ellie Miller investigating the death of a young child. The series explores the effects of tragic murder on a small, close-knit community.

Line of Duty

Line of Duty is a groundbreaking British crime TV show which takes the viewer inside the world of anti-corruption police unit AC-12. Unlike most police dramas which show the force at its best, Line of Duty tackles the issue of police corruption and "bent coppers". The show's writing has been praised for its clever plotlines and the tension that builds as the viewer is invited to speculate on the identity of 'H', the head of a corrupt ring of police officers.

You

You centres around Joe Goldberg, a manager of a bookshop who becomes infatuated with the women he encounters. What seems fairly innocent at first, descends into dark themes of obsession, control, possessiveness and ultimately, evil. The character's actions often mirror plot points from romantic comedy films and so there are questions around where society should draw the line between love and obsession.

You was originally published as a novel by Caroline Kepnes in 2014. It was later turned into a hit Netflix series, which expanded on the novel's original plot.

If you want to discover more modern crime stories, you can read web novels for free on Fictra.